In the NewsThe Washington Post February 14, 2019

House Science Committee turns new leaf on climate change with Democrats in charge

For years, the Republican-led House Science Committee has tried to put global warming research on ice. It tried to slash government research into the warming globe and even launched investigations into scientists who produced a global warming study many conservatives despised. But in January, Democrats took control of the House. And that committee's former boss, Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), retired. Now the panel is turning a new leaf: Its new leader, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.), is taking a stronger stance on climate change. She decided to make the topic the focus of the committee's first full hearing this session and promised many more discussions about the science behind it in the coming two years. “Climate change is real, it is happening now and humans are responsible for it,” said Rutgers professor Robert Kopp, Lab co-director and the lead author of major climate reports for both the U.S. government and United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.